Ultimate X-Man
by Exile037
Summary: When a average person from the real world gets sent into the Ultimate Universe by the Watchers, it's up to him to find his path. Now with powers, he joins the X-Men and and tries to set the world straight of accepting mutants, vigilantes, and superhumans. Can he face the trials and challenges that are set upon him? Tune in! Ultimate X-Factor and Ultimate X-Force will be included.
1. Another World

**Chapter 1: Another World**

It was a typical day here at work for a light tan skinned and black nineteen year old like me, I worked at the coffee shop at Barnes & Noble giving people their coffee and lattees'. At one of my breaks, I read up on some comics books from the right section of the store. Sometimes it's the DC's new 51comics and the Marvel Now comics, but this time for me it was the Ultimate Comics. I remembered that I use to read up on the series until I read the piece of crap which was Ultimatum that killed off Nightcrawler, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Wasp (who I really didn't give a damn about since I can pretty much tolerate the 616 Wasp and the Red Wasp from the Ultimate Universe, but still when I read how she died that was completely messed up) and Wolverine. And after Ultimatum, I vowed to never read another comic from the Ultimate Universe again. But after the death of Ultimate Spider-Man and the New Spider-Man of the Ultimate Universe Miles Morales (whose pretty sweet having now), I decided to read back on the Ultimate comics and find out a lot. Reed Richard turned to a total douche in Ultimate Enemy, there was an Avengers team in the Ultimate Universe that was created by Nick Fury, Kitty Pryde being leader of the X-Men, and Captain America is frickin' president. I have to admit, that was truly legen wait-for-it dary. Right now, I was reading one of the old Ultimate X-men issues 51-55 during my break.

"I remember this issue, this is where Gambit was when some of the X-Men were at Coney." I said only hearing the alarm on my phone ring

"Back to work." I replied getting up from the chair I was on in the cafe section of the store, putting the comics back in the comic book section

After a couple hours later, my shift over and it was time for me to head back home. I step outside and trip on the ground, only to see a small object that looked like a pillar once I picked it up from off the ground. It looked strange-looking though, it had an eye at the top of it and markings on the middle and bottom side of the small object like pillar. So long story short, I picked it up and went home.

A few hours later, I decided to go to bed after taking a shower. I looked at the pillar one more time before I went back to sleep, putting it on top of my desk. But as soon as I closed my eyes and went back to sleep, A bright light started shining that caused me to open my eyes sending me to some sort of stone room with the pillar looking exactly like the one I had taken home. I looked up and saw the pillar in front of me now 6 times larger than my height since I'm about 5'9, with the eye glowing bright red at me along with the other pillars.

"Who am I, and what is this place?" I asked wondering if anyone was hearing me

"You are in the hall of the Watchers." said a mysterious voice

"Who said that? Is someone here?" I replied again seeing if anyone beside was in this hall of the Watchers place

"Look up." the voice said back with me looking up now confused

"Are you talking to me?" I asked the pillar that was talking to me

"Yes." said the pillar

"Who or what are you?" I said staring at the pillar in front of me

"I am Uatu, the Watcher." it said

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! You don't look anything like Uatu. Uatu is the one with a giant bald head wearing a toga." I said completely not believing this

"I am Uatu of Earth-1610." It stated

"Earth-1610..." my eyes suddenly went wide "The Ultimate Universe?" I asked looking the pillar directly in the eye

"Yes. I have brought you here by the decision of the Watchers. The Watchers find interest in you, other worlder." Uatu stated

"Why are the Watchers interested in me for?" I asked half curious and confused

"We, the Watchers, wish to test how someone like you can live in another dimension different than your own." Uatu explained. "And to do that, we will place something inside in you." Uatu said shooting a beam of energy at me, but it only gave him a minor headache

"Oww. What the hell was that?" I replied having a migraine all of a sudden

"We have placed an immunity to any telepathy from within you. You will also receive increased strength, agility, speed, and a recovery ability along with heightened senses." it answered

'I think Mainstream Marvel DeadPool, the 616 one has that ability.' I thought recalling him having to be immune to telepathy before looking back at Uatu."Wow, thanks! But what exactly do you want me to do once I'm there?" I said rubbing my neck

"Anything you wish to start with of your choosing. Now, prepare yourself." Uatu replied, shooting a bright light at me that somehow could beam me away from the hall of the Watchers

The bright light disappeared, only to find myself seeing a taxi cab coming towards once I quickly got out of the way. I dodged another car coming toward me, with me quickly getting out of the street.

"Get out of the street, ya punk!" the driver shouted driving away

"Tell it to ya daddy, bitch!" I shouted back with a CJ impersonation before I looked down to see if I was alright, only finding that I'm still wearing the red track pants and white tank top I slept in before looking at a newspaper that had Spider-Man. And by that, I mean the original one in the Ultimate Universe

"I'm definitely here." I muttered walking to the sidewalk bare footed 'But, I'm going to need find some shoes. I can't walk around the city bare footed. Let's see I have no wallet, no money, and nowhere to stay since I'm here. ' I thought all of a sudden finding a pair of black tennis shoes, with me grabbing hoping no one noticed

I went to an alley way and took a black hooded jacket, while I sat down and put the shoes I took being relieved that they were my size after I put the jacket on. I walked out and noticed a mob chasing down a black shaggy haired sixteen year old boy with hazel eyes, along with a brown haired and white streaked man in his early forties and a black haired tied back ponytail woman probably in her early forties as well running from them. They were accompanied by a African American man wearing a cap and a goatee, while the angry mob was shouting "Fuckin' Muties! Get out of our city! We don't want you here!" with me deciding to help out the mutants running away from the angry mob. I looked at what I could us to distract the angry crowd so far, I found a trash can in front of me and decided to come up with an idea. I held out the trash can ready to throw it once I got close enough to the guy leading the angry mob, hoping this will help for a short time as I threw the trash can high in the hair while I moved out of the way of the angry mob.

"Shouldn't have never come here, mutie-!" the man got cut off after getting hit in the head by the trash can I threw before I went to run with the mutants I helped away from the mob while they went down to see if the man was alright

In one minute, I felt a hand touch my shoulder as I turned around and saw the fourty year old man I helped out. And then in the next minute, I'm just teleported away by this dude along with the other mutants that ran away from the mob. After we had teleported away, the insides of my stomach were playing soccer in me, causing me to hurl right by a trash can. I coughed twice, rubbed my hand to my forehead because of the teleportion. The headache went away and I saw the group looking at me, unsure to trust me or not. The sixteen year old from before walked toward me, with the fourty year old woman doing the same

"Thanks for the help, but who are you?" the woman asked wanting to know who I am. I mean, I'm not going to tell them my real name. But I can't leave them hanging either, even when I saved them

"Devon Slate. You?" I said

"Carla Palmer." she said "This is my husband Lucas Palmer, and this is our son Jason Palmer." answered said woman introducing her, her son, and her husband now turning their attention to the one accompanying them "This is my friend, Tyler Jones." she replied

"That mob that I saved you guys from said you were mutants. Since I've seen your husband's superpower, what are the rest of yours?" I asked very curiously, but a little cautious just in case

"Well, we're not mutants. We're, more like mutates. My husband has the power to see things before they happen, along with other telekinetic abilities. Our son Jason can run and it's possible, he could fly at supersonic speed along the way shooting out sonic booms from his hands. While I on the other hand have x-ray vision and can absorb energy along the way redirect it. Our friend Tyler here is a technopath, he can talk to machines and can create them as protection or a weapon to fend off with." Carla Palmer explained to me while I was completely taken by surprise that these guys were mutates instead of mutants

"Okay, then. How did you become mutates, then?" I replied with Lucas walking in front of me with a stare

"We were kidnapped by a paramilitary group called Weapon X. They were trying to create a new breed of superhuman. They started by mutagenically altering our DNA, tried procedures both medical and experimental, and after a few hours later we started having superhuman powers." he explained

"Long story short, we used the powers they gave us and got the hell out of there. Since then, we've been keeping ourselves out of mind and out of sight. Until... well, you know." said Tyler rubbing the back of his neck

"Don't suppose you have a place to stay kid?" Lucas asked me with me just shrugging my head

"No, sorry. I don't have a place here in New York City, I'm pretty much just like you guys. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?" I said seeing the Palmers and Tyler Jones suddenly grin at me

"Sure. It's the least we can after you help us, kid." Tyler answered with me seeing Lucas have some sort of headache as his wife and son walked up to him

"Lucas, what's wrong?" Carla asked as her hands were on his shoulders

"They're here." he replied with a groan

"Whose here?" I asked curious, while I suddenly heard noises toned senses

"Weapon X." he answered only for a feminie voice to speak up

"Wow. You are a precog." the voice said with me, the Palmers, and Tyler turning around to see a figure standing in front of us

It was a fifteen or sixteen year old girl dressed in a black skin tight outfit. Only her face was showing though, with my eyes going fucking wide. She was a little pale and probably didn't get out more often in the daytime. She had green eyes, Her hair was brown with a white streak running down the front. She probably was the same age or a year younger than Jason, who was somewhat stun to see this girl in front of him. This girl was Marian Carycle, better known as Rogue only for us to see Nightcrawler beside her along with a few others. One of them was a caucasian fifteen year old girl with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes, wearing the same thing Rogue and Nightcrawler was wearing who I figured out was actually Jubilee. The second one was a man with a shaved crew cut hairstyle and a stubble, wearing the exact skin tight black outfit with a dogtag that had the name Christopher Bradley aka Bolt. The third one was hovering in the air, covered in flames who I knew was also Sunfire. The fourth one was a sixteen year old asian girl, wearing the same skin tight outfit like the others along with wielding metal gauntlets who was probably Surge. And the fifth one was a huge man that had on a large, dark dome-like helmet with a red visor who I knew was Juggernaut.

"let's go this over with." Nightcrawler said in his german language as he teleported away in plushorous smoke

I saw Nightcrawler teleport from behind Lucas, only for me to tackle Nightcrawler to a nearby dumpster. He teleports away when I noticed a hand coming towards me, I turned around to see Rogue about to touch me with me getting the hell out of the way. I know what would happen if she touched me, one touch from her would knock me out or kill me

Then I twirl my head around to see Tyler put on a pair of hi-tech gauntlets, with neon glowing lights appearing once he put them as trash cans and dumpsters floated in the air. Sunfire, Surge, and rushed forward, pulling on their trademark powers to hold them down, pounding on him with everything they had. Tyler sent two metal fences at Rogue, while Jason rushed Nightcrawler with a sonic boom sending him flying.

Nightcrawler teleported out of the way with Carla and me kicked the alley wall behind him after he disappeared. We got out of the way while Juggernaut smashed himself into the opposite wall, jumping on him from behind. He managed to grab Carla while we were trying to avoid getting squashed against the wall or gripped into a bear hug.

I saw Surge and Bolt behind me, causing me to dodge an electrical attack from both Bolt and her. Jason shot out another blast to counter Nightcrawler, but he manage to teleported away. Then suddenly, Juggernaut grabbed Jason from behind, holding him in a crushing bear hug. I left off of Juggernaut to hit him in the crotch trying to get Jason loose, but he didn't even seem to feel it only I did 'Son of a bitch, that hurts!' I thought out loud to myself

"Like I said, this ain't our idea." Rogue said, moving towards Jason again with Carla seeing her son held captive

"Jason!" she yelled seeing Rogue touch Jason's face, causing him to be out of it

Carla and Lucas got shocked from behind, revealing Bolt to be the one that had them passed out. Me and Tyler looked as shocked as the Palmers were knocked out. Juggernaut dropped Jason and had tied up Lucas and Carla, only leaving me and Tyler once they looked at us. He fired an energy beam from his gauntlets, trying his best to distraction the group. If he could send a blast at Rogue with her hands exposed, she could knock out Juggernaut. But, that plan backfired when Bolt tazed Tyler as he fell to the ground.

I then saw Nightcrawler teleport away, grabbing me in the process. I had only a second to get the hell out of his hold on me before Rogue touched me. But I was too late once she touched me and took all the strength I had in my body. My legs started felt like they were made of jelly, causing me to collapsed.

"We got them." Rogue said. I couldn't see who she was talking to, I couldn't even keep my eyes open causing me to be in near uncounsciousness not knowing what was going to happen to me

"No, no... I can't... I can't..." I groaned now fading into uncounsciousness


	2. Forced into servitude

**Chapter 2: Forced into Servitude**

**None pov**

Devon was rudely awakened by a splash of water. he had blinked twice blearily, looking around to see where I was at. There was a man standing over me, a soldier holding up an empty bucket. He was bald and he hadn't shaved, or he'd shaved badly. Devon thought with a annoyed sigh, if the three jagged scars that ran across the right side of his face were anything to go by. Devon didn't like the ugly look in his eyes though, feeling he's in deep wherever he was now

"Get up, freak!" the man ordered

"Get bent!" Devon spat only for the man to kick him in the head. Devon blinked, shifted, and sat up, looking up at the man that towered over him

'Where am I now? Could this be Weapon X? What I'm saying? Of course it's Weapon X!' he thought observing the room he was in which reminded of the Weapon X facility

"Stand up." the man snarled. The man kicked him hard, catching Devon completely off guard. He retched and nearly threw up, along the way hit the man in his groin. Another soldier tried to kick him again, but he caught his foot, was about to twist the man's ankle, when he was yanked back by the scruff of his neck.

A tall blond man held Devon up. This guy looked more like an animal than a man. He'd sharpened his teeth, or he was born with them that way, and they were a creepy silver. He hadn't shaved either, but he was somehow more feral-looking. He wore a necklace of what looked suspiciously like human ears. At that moment, Devon know that the man gripping him into a hold was none other than Sabretooth

Devon twisted and turned to escape the man's grip, but Sabretooth just kept holding him tighter

"This one's got some fight to him, boys." the soldier said, chuckling. He punched Devon hard in the gut. The other man was about to punch Devon and let him drop to the floor, but he headbutt Sabretooth and kicked the soldier in the stomach hard

Devon quickly rolled to his feet a good distance from the two men. He took in his surroundings more fully after waking up. He was in a white tiled alcove room. It wasn't all that big, but there were two bunk beds for lack of a better word, a toilet, and a sink. There were more soldiers armed with big guns standing alert just beyond the room in the hall.

"If you're thinking about escape, don't bother." the soldier said. "My name's Colonel Wraith. I own your ass now." Col. Wraith declared

"Like hell you do. I ain't your bitch!" Devon growled staring at Colonel Wraith

If Colonel Wraith thought he was just going to sit back without trying something, he was a moron. It'd be tough and difficult for Devon to get past all those guns... but not impossible. If he used his top speed along with his strength and agility, he could take cover by the table nearby while they fired at him and attack them when they close enough to reload

"In case you're still thinking of escape, don't bother." Wraith said. He held out a small box, some kind of remote. He pressed the button. Blinding pain started filling Devon's head, causing him to wince in pain. He collapsed on the floor, clutching at his head, screaming through clenched teeth. He'd never felt anything like the white hot agony he was in now. "There's an implant in the back of your head. I push this button and you can say goodbye to the waking world, princess." Wraith said showing an evil smirk

Wraith stopped holding the button down and the pain faded. Hesitantly, Devon started pulling himself up on his feet, making sure to keep his distance from the two men in his cell. He kept his eyes on the remote in Wraith's hand

"Good, we finally have an understanding." Wraith said. "Take him." he ordered as two soldiers grabbed Devon and took him away to his cell

Without looking back, Wraith left the cell. Devon watched him go, until Sabretooth shoved him on the floor, hard. He stumbled, but stayed on his feet. He glared at Sabretooth, who chuckled in response. Two soldiers moved in, grabbing him by his shoulders, forcing him after Wraith, through a labyrinthine set of identical corridors until they came to a large metal door. They typed a code into the console set into the wall next to the door and a moment later, the door opened up revealing a large white room

The soldiers tossed him through unceremoniously. The door shut behind him with a heavy clang that told him even using all his strength, he probably wasn't going to be able to budge it. He pounded on it with all his strength anyway, only to see he was right about the door not budging

Devon was left in a long, plain hallway. There were cameras hidden in the corners of the hall. They were watching him no doubt, with Devon looking around cautiously. There didn't seem to be anything too dangerous about the hallway. 'What was the point in shoving me in here and locking the door behind me?' he thought pondering at the moment, but remaining cautious

He took a few cautious steps, then leaped forward as a large spike shot out of the floor behind him. It would've impaled him if he hadn't moved in time due to his increased reflexes. Another spike shot at him from the left. Devon ducked underneath, rolling to his right and dodging more spikes being fired his way

He stopped, stood perfectly still if anything troubling came his way until...

"Keep moving, freak!" which was the voice of Colonel Wraith as Devon turned and glared at the intercom.

"Why the hell should I?" Devon demanded, crossing his arms. He wasn't going to move an inch. Twin guns popped out of the wall behind him and fired. Devon quickly moved out of the way, narrowly missing each and every other spike being fired at him. Devon decided to sprint on dodging and avoiding every spike being fired, it wasn't exactly easy or without danger either. He took a spike to the shoulder when he took a wrong step and it was only his reflexes that kept him from being killed outright

It took him three hours to make it to the other end of the hallway. He was exhausted by the time he got there, pulling out the spike that went into his shoulder as he grunted in pain for a short moment while the wound was started to heal up. Wraith was waiting for him at the door at the other end, him and half a dozen armed soldiers

"Do it again." Wraith ordered.

"Are you #$%in' kidding?!" Devon exclaimed. "What's the point of this shit?! To have fun watching me get shot?!" he yelled as Wraith smirked and Devon knew he wasn't going to even enjoy the answer

"It's fun to watch." Wraith answered narrowing his eyebrows and revealing a devious and evil grin at him

"Screw you," Devon said, crossing his arms. "I'm not doing it again. You can just get bent." Devon spatted glaring right at Wraith

Wraith pulled out the remote. Devon watched him warily, but refused to back down from him. Wraith pressed the button and held it down. Devon started screaming and writhed in pain on the floor while exacerbating his wounded shoulder, and after minutes that felt like hours, Devon finally passed out on the floor

The soldiers dragged his unconscious body past a series of other cells and dumped him in his own. Devon feigned unconsciousness the whole way, while he slowly started to get up. One of them paused at the threshold throwing a piece of black clothing at him. "Welcome to Weapon X, freak. Enjoy your stay."

Devon waited for them to go before he can fully get up from the floor and looked around. They'd thrown him something to wear, a black and skin tight outfit, with a stylised X printed in yellow on the shoulder.

"They expect me wear this damn thing...?" he scoffed. "Mind as well, I got nothing else to wear besides what I got on right now anyway." Devon muttered to himself, holding the one-piece costume up. He winced as the movement reminded him of the injury to his shoulder. He peeled away and threw out his bloodstained tee-shirt to take a look. It was already healing, but it'd be a while before the injury had completely healed

He was stuck here at least until then.

"Devon?" said a familiar voice to him as he turned to the direction it came from, only to see Jason on the bottom bunk bed

"Jason? You alright?" he asked

"Yeah, but I don't know about Mom and Dad." Jason answered worried about his parents

"Let's just hope your parents are okay, kid. Where's Tyler?" Devon replied as Jason pointed to a cell next to the cell of a shoulder length brown haired eighteen year old girl who was actually Rahne Sinclair aka Wolfsbane

"Tyler! Tyler! You alright, man?" Devon said seeing Tyler approach his cell

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tyler then glanced at Jason. "Jason, where are your parents?" Tyler said rubbing his forehead due to a slight headache

"I don't know. They haven't come back since I got put in this cell." he exclaimed while he looked at Rogue

"I'm sorry." she said in a sympathetic way

Devon looked up. The girl who taken him down known as Rogue was in the cell opposite to his and Jason. So was Juggernaut's along Nightcrawler's, Jubilee's, Bolt's, Sunfire and Surge's cell as they were all watching them now.

Both Jason and Devon looked around to see if there was anyone else. There was an 8 foot tall creature with brown fur and torn pants which reminded Devon of Sasquatch from Alpha Flight, a Native-American in his late twenties who was probably Shaman, and a pale blue skinned woman with black hair along with a big black dot on her left eye who was a dead ringer for Domino wearing a Weapon X outfit. To the other side of the cells was a African-American man with a rough beard and a headwrap on his head wearing the same Weapon X outfit. A pink skinned woman with green eyes, long magenta hair, and a pink diamond on her forehead known as Clarice Ferguson aka Blink. A shaggy blonde haired man with a scar on his right eye and a small soul patch wearing the same skin tight Weapon X outfit who was Calvin Rankin aka Mimic, and a brown haired muscular man with a flatop and green eyes wearing the same outfit the others wore. At Jason and Devon's cell, was a green barrier that kept them inside. Devon knocked it with his hand and came away feeling tingly.

"Say somethin', would ya?" The girl asked. "Please?"

Devon saw Jason glance at her for a long moment, but looked away depressed worrying about his parents. Devon's eyes met Rogue with a short glance as he went to check on Jason and Tyler. He could see an unexpected rage welling up inside Jason, anger boiling up to the point if anything happened to his parents. The girl shivered visibly at his look, feeling a hint of sympathic and guilt for capturing him and his family along with two people that accompanied

"Forget about him, Rogue." Juggernaut said

Devon pulled his shirt off carefully. He knew he needed to keep his shoulder out in the open so it could heal better. He looked down at his ruined shirt, to where the wound impacted on. Apart from the large hole in the shoulder, it was so stained with blood that it'd probably never come out. He looked back down to the uniform they'd thrown at him. It looked like he had no choice, For now

He lay down on what passed for a bunk, staring up at the ceiling. Him and the group were going to get out of here. They just needed a plan...

'Time for a plan.' Devon thought rubbing his chin

Devon was doing fine the next morning, while Jason got up doing push ups. He tested out his shoulder anyway, noticing there wasn't even a scar. Devon grinned to himself, It was time for him and Jason to put their plan into action

They reluctantly put on the skin tight black uniforms they'd been given. Glancing up at the security camera, while Jason frowned and Devon narrowed his eyes at the camera. If they saw them do this, it wouldn't work

He told Jason about his plan, so did Tyler once they told him. Tyler got ready by putting on the skin tight outfit on, ready to carry out the plan while Devon and Jason got prepared. The soldiers that fed them in the morning came by after a little while. They didn't notice at first, feeding the other prisoners such as Rogue, Nightcralwer, and Juggernaut along with the others too. One of the soldiers brought the food into the cells, while the other three kept the prisoners at bay.

They came to his cell to see Jason and Devon on the floor, not moving "Dinner time, freaks! I said, eat! Are you mutie freaks listening to me!?" One of them asked, dropping the tray of plastic cutlery and cheap flavourless food. "Quick. Open it up."

They waited just a moment longer until he heard the distinctive hum stop. The footsteps came closer. Just a moment longer and-

Jason leapt into action, blasting the soldiers away with his sonic boom. Devon kicked the first soldier hard in the knee, spun around and delivered a crushing punch to the back of his head before any of them could react. He had only a moment to close the distance between himself and the other soldiers, while Jason waited for Devon to get the go ahead. They were now raising their guns even, only for Jason to blast them away with his sonic booms that sent him flying back

Devon made it inside one soldier's defence, pushing his gun up and out of the way. He rammed his elbow into the man's chest as hard as he could, then kicked him in the head

Devon had to avoid being mowed down in a hail of bullets. He was on top of the other two soldiers before they could react, Jason shot them away with another sonic blast as Devon went to get Tyler out from his cell

They were both out cold. The whole event taking less than a minute and a half.

Tyler pulled out one of their guns and put a bullet into each of their knees, then put a bullet into the camera. He tossed the weapon away him, Devon, and Jason made their way down the hall, disguising themselves as three of the soldiers as they went on ahead to find Jason's parents. There were a couple of thick metal doors between them and the outside world, but Jason had earlier pocketed the soldier's swipe card. About halfway there, they heard an alarm go off. A dozen heavily-armed soldiers stormed past, heading back the way they come from. None of them stopped to question neither one of them

They made it to the frigid outdoors before anyone realised that the soldier they had passed was actually moaning in pain, nursing a blown-out kneecap.

The choppers were in the air in record time, shining their spotlights everywhere. Tyler used his technopath ability to created a hand-made mid-air turret from the fan he took in one of the hallways and sent it running, causing it to fire at the Weapon X soldiers on sight to distract long enough. They'd be looking for a big man, or at least someone human-sized while they ran to a hiding spot outside

For what felt like forever, they watched from his hiding spot in the bushes as snowmobiles went whizzing by while Jason and Tyler had noticed Devon had vanished somewhere

"Devon, where are you?" Jason asked, looking side to side for Devon

"I'm right here." he said with both Jason and Tyler not seeing him at all

"Where-" Tyler is cut off when he sees Devon appear again

"What? Is something on me?" he asked seeing his hand blending into the snow all of a sudden

"Wow." he said amazed until he noticed a figure

Devon suddenly became aware of someone new, Sabretooth was outside with his claws popping out. He was sniffing the air suspiciously. If he could smell even the tiniest bit of his, Jason, or Tyler's scent, he could take them out no matter where they went

"Come on out," Sabretooth said "I'll make it quick." he replies showing a mischevious smile going across his face

Jason considered calling Sabretooth's bluff. Maybe he didn't really know where they were hiding due to the snow, then the man looked right into their direction and grinned. His teeth glinted viciously in the morning light as he took a step towards them, with Devon looking at Jason ready to hit Sabretooth with a sonic boom

It was now or never, Jason sent out a sonic blast at Sabretooth that sent him flying away. Sabretooth snarled and tried to gut Jason with his claws, only for Devon sent a high kick at Sabretooth's chest falling to the ground. Devon dodged in midair after leaping on Sabretooth avoiding the claws, while Tyler fired off six shots into Sabretooth's body. Devon landed a solid kick to Sabretooth's head, only for him to launch Devon at Tyler while Jason another sonic boom across his chest sending him flying back to a tree

Sabretooth staggered back for a moment, before rushing back at Devon, Jason, and Tyler. Naruto fired a dozen shots at Sabretooth. The first two hit his legs. The next one hit him in the calf of his leg, leaving Devon to dodge, sweeping Sabretooth's legs out from under him. Jason flew high, firing two blasts of sonic energy from the sides as it impact hard on Sabretooth, sending him up into the air. Another blast sent him flying to the frozen ground. Devon met him coming up with the heel of his foot and sent him slamming into the frozen ground.

"Damn it! Your skull just had to be made of Adamantium, didn't it?" Devon yelped, nursing his foot for a moment when suddenly...

They heard the distinctive sound of guns being cocked. They were completely surrounded

"In the words of a wise man, I say well... shit." Devon said lifting his hands up in total mock surrender

Devon looked around, shaking his head and raised his hands along with Tyler and Jason. Three darts hit each of them square in the chest anyway, causing the three of them to drop to the ground unconscious

"Aside from Jason and Tyler as mutates, Devon Slate's human." Doctor Cornelius said. He was consumed by the image displayed on the screen, a three dimensional double helix construct, the new guy's DNA.

"What?" Wraith demanded. "That's impossible. The things he can do... the way he can fight and heal himself."

Doctor Cornelius nodded his head absently, as if in agreement. Devon's basic abilities were borderline super-human. He could move very fast, react very fast, if the situation called for it, which it certainly did in the gauntlet. He could hit very hard too, if the copy of Nick Fury's stolen report was anything to go by. He healed abnormally quickly. That first wound he'd sustained in the gauntlet should have put him out for two weeks minimum, but he was back on his feet the next day. He didn't heal as quickly as Wolverine or Sabertooth, but for someone without the mutant gene, he healed mild and quick rate

And then there were his other abilities. He had an ability to blend into his surroundings. This ability made his first escape attempt a confusing rush that saw him well past the perimeter before he was recaptured. 'The ability has such true potential!' Cornelius thought, rubbing his chin

But the bottom line was that Devon should not have been able to do any of the things he could do. Doctor Cornelius couldn't explain it. There were some anomalies in Devon's genetic structure that Cornelius wanted to study, but nothing to explain the range of his abilities. "I've studied his DNA extensively. There's no sign of the mutant gene anywhere. Believe me, I'd know it if he was a mutant." he stated to Colonel Wraith

He glanced over at footage again. Devon Slate had just reached the third run-through of the gauntlet. His movements were noticeably smoother this time through. His time was steadily improving each time through too. He could do it in ten minutes now, without ever injuring himself

"How do you explain it then?" Wraith demanded.

"I can't. Not yet, not until I can figure out for myself." Cornelius said, shrugging his shoulders. He returned his attention to the double helix model of the kid's DNA. That kid, Slate had true hidden potential

Devon and the mutate he's been with have been a prisoner in the Weapon X stronghold for maybe four or five months now, he couldn't tell. Every moment Cornelius and Coloniel Wraith forced Weapon X to track them down to run through that hallway every day at every turn, He was getting better at it too. He found that, if he focused his camouflage power not only so he could he move faster, but he could avoid the spikes for precious seconds longer if he remained in his cloaked form. It was something he was practising alone in his cell after lights out.

Devon had tried escaping three times now. They had taken sadistic pleasure in breaking his legs last time he'd tried, which was over a month ago. He'd healed up since then but he hadn't tried to escape again, Not yet anyway. They were keeping a close eye on him, but if they thought he'd run out of tricks...

Devon frowned with his eyebrows pinched at the remainder he'd been held prisoner. When he finally did got out of here, he was going to make sure they never, ever forgot about him. He just needed a foolproof plan of escape first

"Wake up, Slate. Except you, Palmer, you stay where you are." Devon and Jason opened their eyes. He hadn't been asleep anyway. He hardly slept in this place and when he did, he dreamed of being kept and prodding out by Weapon X. Wraith was standing outside his cell wearing a red and white outfit with glowing orbs on the arms and shoulders which quickly reminded Devon of Guardian in the 616 continuity. But Wraith wasn't alone, of course. Wraith was never alone. If he ever came alone, he'd be dead before he could reach for his stupid little remote. "Time to earn your keep." he declared with Devon getting up and given a dogtag that had Elite X on it as the barrier dropped

Devon paused for a moment. "What the hell is going on?"

Wraith grinned. "We're going on a recruitment drive." he answered almost insanely

"Oh, crap. This can't be good." Devon muttered

The soldiers accompanying Wraith entered Devon and Jason's cell cautiously. The last three escape attempts had proven to them all that Devon could be seriously very violent if he wanted to be. And he was only getting more violent. It wasn't exactly in character for him. He couldn't explain it. He'd fight as hard as he could, sure. He'd rush in headfirst without a plan. He'd had enough time to himself to figure that out, he couldn't do that here. Devon was trapped, along with the mutates he came here with for company

The soldiers pushed him out of his cell. The others were already in the hallway, Rogue, Juggernaut, and Nightcrawler. They didn't look any happier about this than he was, while Wraith brought Kestrel and Blink

They were escorted towards a waiting helicopter. Heavily-armed soldiers were already piling into other helicopters. It looked like they were going for a full assault.

"It's going to be a good time, a helluva time." Sabertooth said, grinning as he climbed into their helicopter. Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Juggernaut followed him in. Devon hesitated for a moment before going in the helicopter

"Where are we going, Wraith?" Devon asked the so called Warden of Weapon X

"Upstate New York," Wraith answered now looking at the pilot. "Take us away." he ordered as the pilot did what as instructed by his superior

Devon frowned, but followed suit. He then looked at Jubilee whose middle finger was broken in place, while Devon sat by her.

"Wraith?" he said to her as she nodded her head in reply "Lift your hand up. This may hurt a little too." he told Jubilee to do as he gripped on her broken finger and snapped it back into place. Her eyes went wide at what just happened, this man she and her team captured got snapped her finger back to place "Thank you." she thanked as Devon nodded his head with a half grin

Rogue wouldn't look at him, he still couldn't understand Nightcrawler, and who knew where Juggernaut was looking with that stupid-looking helmet of his. It was going to be a long, awkward journey. Kestrel was loading up a rifle with darts, while Blink looked down saddened due to the reason she was forced to

It was dark by the time they arrived wherever they were supposed to be going. Devon watched the others drop down into the wooded land beneath them first, blurry black shapes against a dim grey landscape. Wraith stopped him before he could follow

"If you're thinking about using this as an opportunity for another one of your escape attempts," Wraith warned, pulling out that hated remote of his. He grinned sadistically. "Don't bother."

Devon glared at the man for a moment. "Dick." he said as he turned and jumped from the helicopter, aiming for a nearby tree, and from there to where the others had already assembled

"Nice landing." Juggernaut said barely impressed

"Shut up, cylon." Devon shot back with an annoyed glare. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. They started to move towards their final objective, as Devon slouched after them as they made their way to the house on foot. He would have stuffed his hands in his pockets if this skin-tight monstrosity had any pockets to begin with

'Why a House? Wait! No, it's... Oh no, it's Xavier's mansion!' he thought out loud to himself. Not quite what Devon had in mind when they described this place during the mission briefing on the flight over. The soldiers took up positions at the edge of the tree line. They were nervous, jumpy even. Devon could tell by the way they held their weapons and looked around

"Kill the lights and aim for the kitchen," Wraith ordered. "Take out the psychics taken down first." he ordered as a asian man wearing skin tight outfit like the others hold the gun up and aimed it straight ahead at the window while Devon the man ready to take the shot "Steady, Zero. Steady. And..." said Wraith

Two soldiers with laser scopes attached to their guns took aim through what Devon had to guess were the kitchen windows. Another one took aim with a bazooka

"Fire!" Wraith ordered.

The riflemen opened fire first. They weren't shooting bullets but some kind of dart. They shattered the kitchen windows and hit their marks just a moment before bazooka-guy fired at the wall. The explosion lit up the night and killed Devon's night vision for a moment.

"Stand back and hold your breath, gentlemen-" Devon snorted at Wraith's description of his soldiers. "It's time to release the Juggernaut." he declared on his radio

Devon watched the Juggernaut starting to run, head presumably down, in the direction of the mansion. Another squad of soldiers fired more explosives at the house

"Get in position, X," Wraith ordered. "You're on clean-up." he stated

Devon thought about it for a moment. The look on Wraith's face was enough to discourage anything rebellious. If he did this, if he attacked these people, he'd be no better than Weapon X, Wraith, and Sabretooth. But he didn't exactly want to catch a bullet in the back of the head either, while he saw Wraith fly inside the mansion

"Four down, four to go," Juggernaut reported over the radio. "They're all yours now, X."

"Move!" Wraith snarled.

Devon hesitated a moment longer, then leaped from the cover provided by the tree-line and sprinted towards the mansion, well ahead of the soldiers. He smashed feet first through a first-floor window and into some kind of den, or living room. Two people jumped up off the couch, startled.

Devon rolled to his feet and took them in, in an instant. The woman was tall, slender, dark-skinned with long white hair who Devon knew was Storm. She was dressed in a mauve top and a brief black skirt. The man was much bigger than her, broad-shouldered, looked quite strong. He had long dark hair and looked like he hadn't shaved in a bit. He was dressed in a loose-fitting shirt and jeans, which Devon figured to be Beast due to the short ponytail he saw

"What-" Storm started to say

"Who-" The man said at the same time.

Devon threw himself forward, remaining completely cloaked. He hit Beast first, slamming into him with half a couple of fists across his face. The man slammed into the wall hard.

"Henry!" The woman screamed. Three clones rushed in her direction. Kestrel manage to teleport away from the lightning bolt Storm had cast down. Kestrel teleported grabbing her legs out from under her. He landed a gripping hold as Kestrel shot her with the dart. They teleported into the floor, laying her on the floor. She was out cold

"Get away from her!" Beast snarled, leaping at Kestrel. He managed to dodge several of Zero and Kestrel's darts before he was knocked out by a broken lamp over the back of his head with a precision throw. Beast's movements were slowed significantly, Zero hits him with another barrage of darts and the man went down easily as Devon crouched down uncloaked

"Sorry," he muttered, feeling dirty. "I don't have a choice."

While Zero and Kestrel tied those two up, he made his way further into the mansion. What he needed was someone he could talk with for help against Weapon X. 'The X-Men had to have a lot of friends, right? Back-up? They were supposed to be famous or something.' Devon thought according to Juggernaut. If he could convince one of them to help him out with Weapon X, he could try to-

He was in the foyer when he felt the temperature drop drastically. He looked around. The kid coming down the stairs towards him was covered in ice. But right then and there, Devon knew this kid had to be Ice man

"Listen before you fight me, can you just hear me out?" Devon asked, pleading to Iceman. "Do you were I could find-?" Devon was cut off by Iceman

"Who are you?" he demanded angrily. "What have you done with my friends?"

"It ain't me," Devon said. "I hate doing this as much as the next guy. Well as long as the next guy isn't that psycho Sabertooth, or that douchebag Colonel Wraith."

"Leave us alone," Iceman said. "Get the hell out of here or I'll-" Devon cuts him off as he cloaks himself undected by Iceman

'Sorry about this, Iceman.' he thought sneaking up behind him

The kid spun around. Devon punched him hard, knocking him to the floor. "I'll at least find some place to hide you. At this rate, Wolverine could find you and know what's going on." he said quickly decloaking in front of Iceman

"That's it!" Iceman sent a blast of ice at Devon, but all he froze was a nearby chair that Devon had used as cover. The X-Men were too loyal to each other. No way would one of 'em agree to lay low, not when they could maybe fight and win right here and now. Devon know he would have to find some other way.

Right now though, he had to worry about Ice man trying to freeze his ass off.

Devon grinned at the think of an idea as he used his cloak power again, sneaking up behind Ice man fired off every shot of ice. Ice man didn't notice Devon sneaking up behind him until it was too late. Ice man had went down with a punch to the back of the head

"Now, to you hide before..." Devon told the unconscious kid, who he picked up from the floor. The ice had melted, leaving a normal-looking kid behind. He had blue eyes and brown hair that he looked totally average otherwise. Devon stooped down and zip-tied the kid's hands together at the wrists, then his ankles only for a couple of Weapon X soldiers to appear from behind him

"Take him to the chopper, mutie." he threatened holding the remote Wraith had on him

"First off, I'm not a mutant. Second of all, you have the mind of a true scholar sir. I didn't think there wasn't brains with Weapon X besides testestrone." Devon said sarcastically at the Weapon X soldiers with the one with the remote holding it high "Fine." he muttered carrying Ice man to the helicopter

"Sabertooth, this is John Wraith. Give me a sit-rep on Wolverine ASAP," Wraith said over the radio. "Have you got him bagged and ready-to-go, or do you request a little more time, buddy?"

"Negative, Colonel," Sabertooth responded. Devon grinned at that moment, knowing It mthat one of these guys was still at large. The one that Wraith really wanted too. This could work out. "Wolverine ain't in the school or even in the surrounding area. Hasn't been here for ninety minutes either, judging by the lack of a decent scent." he replied taking a final sniff to see if Wolverine was present at all

Devon started looking around for something to leave a message with. They were going to torch the place, burn it to the ground, so he'd need something fireproof.

"Elite X, sit-rep!" Wraith demanded.

Devon frowned in annoyance. "We fought three of them. Henry McCoy codename Beast, Ororo Munroe codename Storm, and Robert Drake codename Ice man. Kestrel and Zero got Beast and Storm, I've got Iceman."

"Beast, Storm, and Iceman. Did you win?" Wraith demanded.

'That was a stupid question! I mean, what does he take me for?' Devon thought in a slight irritable tone out loud

"Yeah, you dumbass." Devon grumbled. 'Damn it! Was there nothing in here that had survive being set on fire by a flame thrower?' Devon thought swearing

"Report back then. That's all of them." Wraith said.

Devon felt no need to respond. "After this is over, you guys might need to invest in something," he told the unconscious Iceman. "I know this is supposed to be a school or something... but, at least give it an upgrade." he replied

When the soldiers showed up to pick up Iceman, Devon reluctantly followed them out. He hadn't found anything with which to leave that Wolverine guy a message.

The others were standing around, guarded by several soldiers with guns. Devon joined them reluctantly. He looked Rogue in the eyes for a long moment. "Sorry."

Devon and the mutate group had given them all a hard time, because they'd kidnapped them. Because they'd managed to beat him but were forced to do so, Rogue especially. Now he'd done the same to the X-Men, one of his favorites. He didn't like this feeling, not one bit

Devon watched the regular soldiers set to work with their flame throwers. The insides of the mansion had been pretty much trashed when Juggernaut went lumbering through. They were just planning on destroying the building entirely. Burning down whatever it stood for. And Devon just watched the whole mansion burn...

"This needs to end." he declared, muttering. "Quick before it gets out of hand."


	3. Injustice Consequences

**Chapter 3: Injustice Consequence**

Devon and Jason laid on the bunk beds in their cell, while Jason was staring up at the plain white ceiling. Devon just kept pacing back and forth to come up with an idea. Jason's parents Lucas and Carla stared at him pacing, wondering what to plan next. They knew that Devon would try to come up with a plan somehow, but every other attempt seemed to fail time after time.

"What are you doing?" Iceman demanded. He was still a little sore at having been beaten by Devon who kept using his wits, along with his cloaking power and it was evident in his tone of voice. They'd put him in the cell opposite Devon and Jason along with the same going for Colossus

Colossus was a large man, a wall of muscle not unlike Juggernaut though proportioned differently. He had black hair and blue eyes. Jason heard he was supposed to be able to turn himself into some kind of metal man, but Devon knew more about him and the rest of the characters in the Ultimate Universe. He was supposed to be super-strong too, not that Jason wouldn't know anything about that. Juggernaut had taken Colossus out when they'd attacked, so neither both of them hadn't had to fight him.

Devon sat back on the bottom of his bunk bed, thinking of a way to escape from the Weapon X facility "I'm trying to think of a way out of here. I gotta be ready for whenever that opportunity comes."

"And you're going to be ready by walking back and forth?" Iceman shot back sarcastically with Devon glancing at him for a moment. "Smooth plan."

"Don't listen to X." Juggernaut said from the cell next to Devon's and Jason's. "He's already tried three times and they caught him and anyone else tryin' to escape every time."

"Hey screw you, dome-face!" Devon shouted, staring right at Juggernaut's face

Devon just shook his head and sat back down on his bunk sighing. "I'm getting the hell out of this place. And that's a promise." he declared

"The only way any of us will ever leave is in a body bag," Juggernaut said darkly. "Sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be."

"Like hell I will! I'm not going to be Weapon X's personal bitch!" Devon said, too quietly to be heard through the cell wall. "But if you want to be Weapon X special little plaything, be my guest." Devon stated glaring at Juggernaut. "As for me, I'm finding a way out of this shithole."

"Hey, you. What's your story?" Cyclops asked Devon as he looked at him. "It doesn't seem like you fit in with these guys."

Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Marvel girl were in the cell next to Iceman's. Cyclops would probably be pretty average-looking. He was average height and not particularly broad-shouldered. He even had average brown hair. He was still had the ability to shoot optic laser beams from his eyes, just like in the comics.

If Devon had to one word to describe Marvel Girl, it would've be hot seeing one of the members in Ultimate X-Men comics including Storm, Emma Frost, or Psylocke if given the chance but they were spoken for. Or his word for Jean Grey would be drop-dead gorgeous, sexy, or beautiful even. But so were the rest of the X-women. She was some kind of psychic which Jason and the others had figured out, while Devon already knew that before they did. She could read minds, luckily Devon's thoughts couldn't be read from her due to Uatu placing a telepathic immunity inside him along with the rest of his powers. Just like in the comics, she had short fiery red hair and green eyes, and that skin-tight uniform of hers made it really difficult not to think about how gorgeous and sexy she really was. Just looking at her made Devon receive a sudden bulge from his pants. Unfortunately for him, he was wearing his skin-tight Weapon X outfit so he covered it by turning away in his bunk bed

"Hahaha! That your recruiting speech?" Juggernaut laughed. Devon glared and frowned in annoyance and irritation. "I heard he ain't even a mutant!"

"What?" Iceman asked. "No way. He could turn himself invisible, not to mention he's faster and stronger like no other human. It like he's a superhuman or something. He's like Captain America." Devon looked up at Iceman who flushed bright red at the memory of how Devon had beaten him. Devon grinned mischievously, but he didn't say anything. The second that these Weapon X bastards found out he'd learned to do the things he could do and hadn't been born with those abilities, they'd probably try to beat it out of him and he wasn't feeling all that co-operative.

"If you're not a mutant, what are you doing here?" Marvel Girl asked.

"It's like Iceman said. He acts and has powers like one of us, but him and the others are mutates. The next steps of human engineering courtesy of Weapon X." Rogue said. "Who's goin' to know the difference without a thorough blood test? X and those mutates are stuck here, just like the rest of us."

"Not if I have anything to say about it, I know there's a way dammit." Devon promised himself along with anyone else who wanted to escape with him. He was going to make something of himself and that was something he couldn't do while he is locked up in a cell.

"You know, I think we should make some kind of a formal complaint to Colonel Wraith about this, Rogue," Juggernaut said. "I appreciate they have to move us while they're repainting our cells, but did they have to make us look at these ugly turncoats all day? Especially X."

"The fuck you callling ugly, dome-face?" Devon asked, laughing. "You're one to talk, my dim-witted friend. You're so ugly, they make you wear that stupid ass helmet when they take you out for a walk! 'Oh, I'm the Juggernaut bitch!' I have to wear this stupid and sorry-ass looking helmet that makes me resemble something from an old sci-fi show." Devon mocks right to Juggernaut

"Shut up you little twerp!" Juggernaut shouted angrily.

"Or you'll do what Cylon? Go Battlestar Galactica on my ass?" Devon taunted. "Just say: We are Cylon, we will obey." he chuckled

"I swear to god, I'll-" Rogue cutted him off

"Can't you see he's tryin' ta provoke you?" Rogue asked, sounding exasperated. Devon grinned to himself, while Jason, some of the X-Men, and the other mutates laughed at the comment he made to Juggernaut. Sure, he could understand why they'd kidnapped him. But, that doesn't mean they were all friends or anything. "Cut it out, X."

"Aw what's wrong, Rogue?" Iceman mocked. "Can't handle a little joke?"

"Iceman, cool it." Cyclops ordered

"True on that ice pack and yet, you have a boner just from looking at her right now." Devon shot back at Iceman as his expression turned flushed while Rogue stared at him

Jason laughed. "Good one!"

Cyclops shot him a disapproving look before he turned back to Rogue and Juggernaut. "I'm not saying we become best friends or anything, but if we want to escape, it'll go a lot smoother if we're not fighting each other."

"Ain't you been listenin' to a word we said?" Rogue asked. She sounded frustrated. "There ain't no way outta here!"

"They put these things in our heads, implants maybe." Devon said, just loud enough so they could hear him. "Wraith pushes a button on that little remote control of his and it feels like you're going to die from that waking pain. Keep that in mind when you're making your escape plans."

"You definetely have to be careful of not being detected in and out of Weapon X." Lucas stated as his wife leaned on his shoulder. "Because if they do, they will make suffering go further than you can imagine."

"How do you know?" Storm asked angrily. Storm was that white-haired woman and weather controlling X-Men Kestrel had beaten up. She was in the cell next to Rogue's. She was bunking with Beast, but Doctor Cornelius had taken him away someplace.

"Because he used it on my ass a couple of times, more than anyone else around here." Devon said quietly. "To get his point across, but Cornelius' been keeping him on his toes lately."

"How old are you suppose to be, anyway?" Marvel Girl whispered almost inaudibly.

"Nineteen, baby. Almost twenty a few months." Devon said in a almost Mordicai type of voice style from Regular Show. 'Man, I still miss that show.' he thought

"We will get out of here." Cyclops promised. "When the President hears that we're being held against our own will, the feds will be all over this place like a bad rash."

"We've been here four months already dude, maybe longer. They don't let us sleep regularly, or when have they ever." Devon muttered to Cyclops. "Those guys have been here even longer. There's not going to be any outside rescue. They probably don't even know we exist. And if they do, they probably just don't care."

"Unfortunately, the last hope we had of getting out of here alive was executed by that slap-head in the wheelchair you seem to hold in such high esteem called my little brother!" Juggernaut said.

"I swear to God, Juggernaut, I'm going to clean my boots with your teeth when we get out of here!" Cyclops snapped shouting

"Well, so much for working together." Devon said to Jason who nodded in reply. He lay back down on his bunk, not knowing what else to do in order to escape. They learned after their first escape attempt that they would pretend to do the play dead procedure to fool them was a bad idea

Devon stopped and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Henry?" Iceman started. There was something in his voice that cut through everyone including Devon. He opened his eyes. Sabertooth strolled past smirking viciously. There were two soldiers behind him, dragging along the big guy, Beast, who was chained up like some animal. He was blue now, furr all over like Nightcrawler.

Storm gasped as they lowered the barrier to her cell and let Beast just tumble inside the cell

"I did this. This is my fault! I should've stopped this!" Devon said quietly smashing his fist toward a wall as it showed a crack. He watched Storm worry over Beast, frantically as she laid him on the bunk bed. He didn't like this feeling. His fists clenched unconsciously. He felt a spike of rage. Unknown to anyone, Devon's eyes burned with anger and rage for just a moment.

Wraith found Doctor Cornelius in his lab. Cornelius' desk was a cluttered mess, but prominent in that mess was Devon Slate's file, open to the evaluation of his performance. Doctor Cornelius' interest in Elite X had peaked when he discovered that Devon Slate was not a mutant. He was able to do amazing, impossible things even and yet he was still somehow human. Wraith didn't really care; Devon Slate codename: Elite X was still a freak as far as he was concerned.

Cornelius was studying a complex model of X's DNA. He had long since run an obsessive and exhaustive search for any anomalies, any unknown genes, anything that could explain Elite X's abilities. So far, He'd found nothing he could use on Slate.

"Still wasting your time with Elite X, Cornelius?" Wraith asked

"I'm working on something, John." Cornelius said. "What is it?"

"Thought you might like to know, I'm sending the new recruits out on their first mission," Wraith said with a smirk. He glanced over at Cornelius' monitor. "What're you working on anyway?"

"Elite X's DNA." Cornelius answered with Wraith acting surprised at the fact Cornelius still working on Slate's DNA

"Still? Why the hell are ya workin' on that for?" Wraith asked.

Cornelius shot him an irritated look, but turned his gaze back to the complex model of Elite X's DNA. "To be more precise, I'm working on a way to introduce the mutant gene into his DNA. Or at least, derived it from a mutant furthermore turning him into a mutate just like the Palmers and Jones." he said

"What?" Wraith asked.

"You yourself said he's had some kind of assassin and soldier like training already." Cornelius argued. "So far, I have decided to induce him with a combination of the three mutants DNA that were declared deceased last year. We still have the blood of mutant prisoners #136 Outcast, #137 Undercloak, and #138 Brute. With the combination derived DNA from these three mutants, he can become the ultimate warrior and even the ultimate weapon given the chance."

"As long as you're not having him heal like Wolverine. We don't need another ultimate killing machine like Logan." Wraith said firmly. Slate, Elite X was enough of a handful without being able to nearly-instantly heal from almost any injury they could inflict. As it was he healed frighteningly quickly.

"We have to show some kind of results, John." Cornelius said. "Or they're going to shut us down, permeantly."

"And you think making mutants and mutates is the best way to go, doc?" Wraith asked. It was more of a rhetorical question.

"You've seen that leak from the accounts, Coloniel." Cornelius said. "They've been cutting back our budgets every year, reinvesting in regular forces instead of what we offer to the table."

Wraith remained silent for a moment, a pensive look on his scarred face. "Alright. I'll sign off on this experiment of yours. But you're not giving him Wolverine's DNA, I don't want to deal with another Wolverine."

"No need, Colonel Wraith. What about the other one? Should I choose his healing factor instead?" Cornelius asked.

Wraith moved over to one of the computers Cornelius wasn't using at the moment. After a few moments searching, he pulled up the file he was looking for. "Yes."

The sound of heavy boots in the hallway outside Devon and Jason's cell woke him from a fitful sleep. He opened his eyes. Sabretooth stood in the hallways along with a dozen soldiers. He looked really happy about something, seeing Jason's parents along with his friend John Denton who was a mutate that received derived DNA from the mutant kmown as Gambit. He had short and loose neck length white hair and eyes just like Gambit's only they were purple, while he threw a piece of rock it exploded with kinetic energy

"What's going on?! Where are you taking my parents?" Jason asked, in a demanding tone. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

The soldiers pushed and manhandled the X-Men from their cells.

"Your parents and the newbies got a mission, runt." Sabretooth answered smiling deviously. Devon watched them march the X-Men down the hallway and out of sight. He wondered what kind of mission they'd have. Would they be forced to destroy someone else's lives, just like he had? He lay back down and tried not to think about it.

"Where do you think they're going?" Jason asked. Only Juggernaut and Rogue had been left behind. Nightcrawler had gone with the X-Men

"I don't know Jason." Devon answered half concerned

"Who cares?" Juggernaut asked

"Well, apparently it ain't you. I mean the only thing that comes to mind is your trademark battlecry, I'm the Juggernaut!" Devon responded taunting Juggernaunt who in return was glaring at him

"They're traitors to their own kind." Juggernaut said. "I don't expect you to understand, you little twerp."

"For God's sake! More of this mutant superiority bullshit?!" Devon asked, annoyed. "You do know your parents were human too, right?" Devon says with an annoyed tone of voice

"Yeah," Rogue said darkly. "Don't remind me."

"Then tell me this." Devon started. "By thinking of going with this mutant superiority crap, you actually think you're better than anyone? By being just like Magneto? Know this, nothing good will ever come from this mutant superiority. That means if you hate parents, best friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, anyone! You're proving to be worse than them."

Before anyone could argue with Devon, more footsteps echoed down the hall all of a sudden. Devon and Jason got up and moved towards the barrier to see who was coming. There were half a dozen soldiers and several men in white lab coats. They stopped outside his cell. "Step to the back of your cell, turn around, and put your hands on your head," the lead soldier ordered.

"More tests?" Devon grumbled. He'd been poked and prodded to an annoying degree here in Weapon X.

"I won't say it again, you freak." the soldier said. He pulled out a copy of Wraith's remote. Any excuse and they used it on him as the other soldier looked at Jason "Stay, freak."

"Ah, Ah! Get off of me!" Devon said elbowing a guard in the gut, while another stunned him with a baton. He moved to the back of his cell and turned around. He heard the soldiers enter his cell as he put his hands on his head. They wrenched his hands back around. He stifled a gasp of pain as they handcuffed his wrists together.

Devon was being dragged out of his cell. He saw Jason, Rogue, and Juggernaut watching with interest and curiosity. This wasn't like when they performed all those tests before. What was going on? The soldiers and the men in lab coats led Devon down a labyrinthine series of corridors that all looked the same, until he came to a new lab.

There was a bed in the middle, lots of high-powered lighting, and some sleek, expensive-looking machines that Devon couldn't even begin to identify. His years of television education hadn't covered this world's evil medical experimentation, but the knowledge of Weapon X remained steadfast. He was starting to get a bad feeling, preparing for the worst along the way. He was just about to run when the lead soldier shot him with a dart gun. Devon just had only time to look down, before his eyelids began to feel heavy. The world seemed to spin and his legs gave out underneath him, fading into uncounsciousness...

"There's been a change of plan, Marvel Girl." Wraith said, over the radio. There was an edge to his voice that Jean didn't like. "The boys with the calculators just decided that the good doctor's resume isn't quite what we're looking for right now." Jean could hear the sadistic grin in Wraith's words as he spoke. He was enjoying this. "A rather well-toned young SHIELD agent just handed me a termination order."

Jean shared a stunned look with Storm. "W-what?"

"The mission directive just changed from hire to fire, honey." Wraith said. Jean tried to suppress a shudder at the term of endearment, even though he didn't mean it. "We'd very much like you to do the honours in this little instance, my favourite little mutie."

"Are you out of your mind?" Jean demanded. "We're not going to kill anybody."

The scientist they'd been trying to recruit looked nervous and took a step away from them. The man was sweating.

"This is insane, Wraith! We won't kill an innocent man! He has a family, leave him out of this-" Lucas is then cut off of a sharp pain inside his skull as kneeled on the ground screaming pain, while his wife was running toward his side with the X-Men being shocked and horrified to see this

"Lucas! You bastard, leave him alone!" she shouted

"Temper, temper Mrs. Palmer. You and your husband wouldn't want anything to happen to your son now, would you?"

"If you hurt my son, I'll..." Carla snarled feeling a hand grip her arm seeing it was her husband's

"Carla, no." he told her

"But, Lucas..." Lucas cuts Carla off with a nod

"Believe it or not, that's what eighty-five percent of new recruits say in your position Jean." Wraith said. "Hence the reason we've developed a clever backup initiative I'm just about to demonstrate."

Her distress beacon had been activated by remote, Jean realised with a start. Cyclops and Nightcrawler came running in. "Jean, what's wrong? We got your distress signal."

Jean realised with horror that this was what Wraith had been planning. Cyclops collapsed, screaming and clutching his head. His face was set in a mask of agony.

"Cyclops!" Jean shouted involuntarily.

"Okay. Now, suddenly, the situation has become very, very straightforward, Marvel Girl. You either get over this shyness you have about following orders or we detonate the sub-cranial homing device in young pretty boy here's head." Wraith said. His voice was cool, calm, and Jean knew he'd do it, despite all the effort Weapon X had gone to recruit them. "You have fifteen seconds to make a decision, Jean. The guy you flirt with or some stranger who was willing to launch a gene-weapon at innocent kids in Pakistan. Who's it gonna be, lady?"

"Don't do it, Jean! Don't give in to him!" Cyclops shouted through the pain. His entire body went rigid as a fresh wave of torture washed over him.

"Oh my god!" Storm whispered in disbelief.

"Very noble of you, Cyclops, but put yourself in Jean's size fives." Wraith said. "Could you let her die if the situation was reversed? This guy's a fanatic."

"Oh my god!" Storm repeated, louder this time. "Why are you doing this?"

"Let's just say there isn't much point in having an elite army of killers if they're all operating on PG-13 morality." Wraith said. It was more than that though, Jean knew. He enjoyed seeing them suffer. He was watching this entire scene, from the safety of the Weapon X base, on the feed hacked from the facility's own security cameras. "Now do as you're told and start acting like a soldier, or little Scott Summers goes out like a light bulb, honey."

"P-Please," the scientist stammered. "My name is doctor Atul Pandya. I am married to an artist named Geeta, and I have one son and three daughters." said man pleaded to Marvel Girl

"Five seconds, Marvel Girl." Wraith reminded her.

The scientist kept talking in a desperate babble, trying to forge some kind of bond with Jean, something that would keep him alive. She realised this and at the same time she knew it wouldn't be enough. She'd known Scott for a long time. "I went to Balliol College in Oxford. I collect dinky cars. I have an overactive thyroid condition for which I have to take four tablets every day..."

"Three seconds."

"I'm not an evil man. Yes, I have done evil things, but I'm just an ordinary human being like you are, Jean." the scientist pleaded. "I'm every bit as real as your friend..."

"Two seconds. One."

"Oh god, I am so, so sorry..." Jean whispered. She reached out with her telekinesis. The blood vessels in the man's brain burst. It was nearly instant. Nearly. Jean felt the scientist's thoughts, broadcast loud and clear. The panic and terror, followed by such terrible silence. She was crying, she realised.

"There's hope for you yet, little lady," Wraith said, sounding so very pleased with himself. Jean wanted to be sick. Her legs felt so very weak. "Get back to base, all of you."

"You're a sick bastard, Wraith." said Lucas Palmer with venom of disdain in his voice

"Get use to it, Palmer." Wraith replied back deviously along with a short evil laugh. "You're going to be stuck with us for the rest of your lives."

Back at the Weapon X facility, a couple of Weapon X soldiers accompanied a scientist in a white lab coat to a secure and high level clearance room as two metal doors open to reveal a steel and white room. Inside the room, was a 7' foot tall muscular and massive man with grey skin, blue markings on his head and blue lips wearing only white pants. The 7' foot tall grey man opened his dark eyes that showed red eyeballs, staring at the scientist and the two soldiers.

"En Sabah Nur, that is an interesting name you have there." glanced straight at the grey skinned man "I found out that it means 'the First One' in egyptain." the scientist said nearly amazed

"Doc, can you hurry it up? I don't like being looked at by this mutie for too long." said one of the soldiers who felt a bit tense

"Patience, young man. My experiments will be over as soon as-" the scientist is then cut off by a deep and mysterious voice

"I am the first one." said the grey skinned man with the scientist and two soldiers shocked and startled at the sight of what the grey skinned man. "The first to change the world in my imagine. The first that will rise."

"Did that mutie just talked? Who said you can-" the soldier is cut off by a blast of energy by the grey skinned man that killed him with the scientist and soldiers eyes widened with fear and horror, with the another soldier being blasted and killed as well

"Who or what are you?" the scientist asked in fear

"I am Apocalypse." said the grey skinned and blue tattooed man now known as Apocalypse


	4. Basic Nature

**Chapter 4: Basic Nature**

Inside the main lab, Devon was covered in medical equipment by derived three mutant DNA to mutagenically alter his genes along with his DNA. Doctor Corneilius suddenly received a urgent call from Colonel Wraith himself, while keeping his eye on Devon Slate.

"Doc, talk to me." Wraith demanded

"We have just finished up on turning Elite X into a full fledged mutate, derived from the three deceased mutants DNA from last year. Aside from that, I have given Elite X the healing factor I suggested." stated Doctor Corneilius still observing the comatose Elite X

"Good. I think it's time to give him a mind wipe, erase everything he knows, brainwash his memories. Make him a complete puppet." Colonel Wraith ordered on the radio, with neither Corneilius and Wraith not knowing Devon heard the conversation with his super senses

The IV machine suddenly began to beep extremely fast, causing Devon to twist and turn with rage and fury. Concentrated energy suddenly began to show up on his hands, forming into energy-like brass knuckles as he roared with fury busting out of his imprisonment. The scientist except Corneilius was shocked to see Devon in intense rage floating in the air as the Weapon X soldiers that took Devon out of his powers, shooting straight at him. The bullets impacted on him as he bleed, but they suddenly came off and the wounds reattached themselves only for him to send both of the soldiers flying back to a wall with a backhanded blow. Devon looked down to see he was flying and receive additional such as flight, superhuman strength, and his regenerating power enhanced by the experimentation Corneilius instructed on him. As soon as he was about to confront, he was sent flying back by an explosion from behind. Devon got up and looked at the cause of the blast, his eyes widened to see it was a grey skinned man with blue markings on his face and lips. Red eyeballs and black eyes stare right into his eyes, metallic gauntlets and boots, a black tunic and pants with a metal A incased in a dark blue belt. After seeing the grey skinned man, Devon said only one thing...

"Apocalypse!" he quietly said only to be thrown out of the lab by Apocalypse with Telekinesis, sending him flying away while the eternal mutant turned his attention to the scientists and Doctor Corneilius

X

Rogue was leafing through a trashy magazine, one she'd read half a dozen times before. Suddenly there was this noise, like a low rumble in the distance, muffled by thick concrete walls and heavy steel blast doors. It grew louder very quickly. The ground trembled. The lights overhead flickered.

"Wha-" One of the guards started. A wave of energy hit with a deafening roar. Rogue screamed in panic as Juggernaut was thrown into her, both of them crashing to the floor. The reinforced concrete ceiling collapsed on top of them.

Everything happened so quickly. It was over in a matter of moments. There was ringing in Rogue's ears. Everything was dark. Things faded in and out. Did she pass out? Rogue was having trouble breathing. Her heart raced. She could feel it trying to bust out of her chest. There had been some kind of explosion!

Rogue was pinned down by the rubble. She cried out in agony as she tried to move. There was a shooting pain in her left arm and she could taste blood in her mouth. She was hurt bad, she knew.

Juggernaut groaned. He had taken the brunt of the ceiling's weight, shielding Rogue. "C-Cain." Rogue coughed. "Cain, w-wake up!"

"M-Marian?" Juggernaut groaned. He sounded woozy. The rubble above him shifted as he tried to move. "What... what happened?"

Rogue's panic grew. She didn't know what to do in this situation. They were buried alive. "Don't! Don't move!" Rogue gasped. Her breathing was shallow, short. She couldn't seem to get enough air. "This... this w-whole place c-could come down on top of us any second!"

It had the opposite effect. Juggernaut tried to push himself up. The rubble shifted above him. Rogue was about to use her power on him when she saw a bright light. Juggernaut shifted a massive chunk of reinforced concrete, groaning, his muscles straining in the effort. That was when they what the crack had showed them, daylight! Complete daylight, along with freedom lighting their way!

"W-we're going to make it, Marian." Juggernaut grunted. He was still shielding her with his body, doing it intentionally, Rogue realised. Juggernaut carefully eased away another large chunk of rubble.

She could see him better now. His face was a bruised, bloody mess. Rogue hadn't seen him so much as injured before. A thin sheen of sweat covered his skin as he worked hard on digging them out.

Rogue wanted to help, but her arm was broken. She couldn't borrow Juggernaut's powers either, without risking his life. She was helpless and she hated the feeling. It took Juggernaut a half hour to dig them out.

"Fuck..." Juggernaut whispered, when he finally managed to clear enough of the rubble to get a good look around. "Rogue...You gotta see this." He reached down and helped Rogue up to the surface. He treated her like she was made of glass, being careful not to jostle her broken arm.

Rogue stumbled out of their hole, leaning heavily on Juggernaut for support. The sudden sunlight hurt her eyes, but they adjusted quickly enough. The Weapon X facility was gone. There was nothing left but a crater. Maybe there were survivors, here and there, people that had been lucky, like her and Juggernaut, but a lot of people were going to be dead.

In the centre of the crater, what drew her eyes... was the grey skinned and blue tattooed being known only as Apocalypse, the eternal mutant

X

The X-Men were more subdued on the return trip back to Weapon X. Cyclops tried to comfort Marvel Girl, but he didn't understand. He'd been there, but... She'd killed that man. She'd killed him in cold blood and... Marvel Girl could still hear his thoughts. She could still feel the fear he'd felt. Marvel Girl remained silent, eyes scanning the landscape below as their helicopter flew by.

The Weapon X complex was located in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains of Finland. The mountains were beautiful, pristine, and under other circumstance, visiting them might have been a nice break from dealing with the anti-mutant crap that seemed so prevalent everywhere the X-Men went. They'd been kidnapped though, tortured with sleep deprivation, testing was forced on them, and dehumanising them by being treated like animals. The impassable, implacable mountains were just another prison, keeping them caged.

"Sir, there's a problem." the pilot reported. Sabretooth growled under his breath, but turned his head to acknowledge the pilot. "I just lost contact with base."

"How far out are we?" Sabretooth demanded.

"We should be coming up on it soon." the pilot responded. Sabretooth nodded. Marvel Girl took the whole exchange in absently, her eyes staring off out the window.

The first sign that there was anything wrong came when Marvel Girl noticed the thin column of smoke, rising up in the distance. As their helicopter crossed the last mountainous ridge, the true extent of the damage became clear. Weapon X was gone. Just gone. There was a crater where they'd expected to see the military complex.

The hurried exchange between helicopter pilots was completely ignored. They were all looking out the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of what happened.

"Take us in closer." Sabretooth ordered. The pilot nodded. Sabretooth turned to the X-Men. "We're going down to take a look. If any of you even thinks of trying something..." He left the threat hanging, giving them a sadistic grin. He had that remote in his hand, his thumb on the button.

As they got a bit closer, Marvel Girl could just make out the figures of Juggernaut and Rogue. Rogue was limping, her arm hanging useless at her side, and Juggernaut was a bloody mess. As she watched, Juggernaut took a vicious punch across the jaw that sent him spinning away, end over end across the rubble.

"What... what the hell was that?" Iceman muttered.

Marvel Girl followed that fist back to the... grey skinned and metal wearing man that stood there. It was definitely some kind of man. He had grey skin, with blue markings on his lips and face. He had red eyeballs and black eyes, reminding Marvel Girl almost of the colour of fresh blood. He cracked his neck back in agitation dealing with Juggernaut.

There was something unearthly that hung in the air, an oppressive sense of dread that filled each and every one of them. It was like they were bugs about to be squashed. The feeling got stronger, the closer they got.

Juggernaut lifted a large chunk of concrete and hurled it at the grey skinned man. Two massive, almost explosive energy bursted out, impacting on the concrete missile and crushing it. He then sent out another blast, caught Juggernaut on impact as he was sent flying back. Rogue shrieked and hurried to help the big mutant, but there was nothing she could do as Jason and the rest of the prisoners from Weapon X who stood ready.

"We have to help them." Cyclops said with the X-Men piled out of the helicopters.

A thick wall of ice formed between Rogue and Juggernaut, and the grey skinned man. Iceman slid along on an ice-slide, freezing the man in place with a thick layer of ice. "I got him!"

Apocalypse didn't react at first, then the ice started to crack.

"I think I got him..." Iceman started. He wasn't so sure anymore.

The ice shattered, sending sharp shards flying in every direction. The grey skinned man glared at Iceman, sending a shiver crawling up Iceman's frozen spine.

Storm took to the air. Black clouds rolled in from out of nowhere. Thunder rumbled ominously. All of a sudden, black turned to white. Lightning flashed down, smashing into the man known as Apocalype. The thunder that followed almost instantly left everyone's ears ringing.

He pulled himself up. The ground around it had turned to glass, but it didn't seem affected at all. It had just shrugged off her attack. "Who... who is this guy?" Storm gasped.

Apocalypse rose his hands up, preparing to fire an energy blast. Two energy beams shot up, trying to hit her from the sky. Cyclops stepped up, opening a full-powered optic blast at Apocalypse. He used his telekinesis to weather a blast that could punch through reinforced steel, nothing seemed to stop it.

"H- he just appeared... There was an explosion. Me an' Cain were lucky to survive! When we dug our way out, that... that guy... he..." Rogue gasped. She was crying. There was real fear in her voice. Rogue looked anxiously at Juggernaut, who was bleeding badly. She ignored the blood dripping from her own shattered arm. Marvel Girl was next to him, trying to treat his wounds. "Is he gonna be alright?"

"I think so." Marvel Girl said, nodding her head.

"We gotta retreat!" Iceman called out. Another wall of his ice shattered under Apocalypse's onslaught.

"We can't move Juggernaut in his condition." Marvel Girl said, shaking her head.

The Eternal mutant sent two massive blasts out. It caught their hovering helicopters in its gigantic beams. The powerful being crushed them as if they were made of tinfoil. The explosions were muffled by his hands. Colonel Wraith goes in to stop him in his red and white battle suit, only for Apocalypse to choke him with his telekinesis. Wraith started gasping for air, only for Apocalypse to finish him by choking the life out of him as he fell on the ground hard. His mouth starting to spew blood as the same went for his nose, including his eyeballs.

"We ain't goin' anywhere now." Sabretooth growled. He glanced down at Marvel Girl, still trying to treat Juggernaut. "Leave him! He's dead weight. Worry about yourself. It's us or whoever the hell this is and I ain't about to lose to some damn idiot on steroids!"

"You bastard!" Rogue snarled.

Apocalypse stopped and had his sights on the panicked voice. His head turned, his eyes now tracking Sabretooth intently. he straightened up, opened his mouth wide, then wider, impossibly wide. he reached up inside his mouth, grabbed something small, then pulled it out. An implant tore free with a spray of blood that stopped almost seconds it started. He held the tiny piece of plastic in his palm, then crushed it. he grinned viciously at Sabretooth, its eyes narrowing. He lifted his hand up, propping to use one of his abilities he displayed.

"That... that was an implant!" Storm said shocked along with the others.

The ground shook, walls of concrete and steel wrenched from the earth by massive, held suspended by limbs of red-black energy. Apocalypse stood glaring at his opponent, sending massive chunks of rubble hurtling at Sabretooth. He ducked and dodged, but the chunks were too big. A massive blast burst through one of the larger chunks. Sabretooth was caught completely by surprise. The blast sent him spinning to the ground.

"Is this guy one of us or not?" Colossus shouted.

"Nope, we've never seen him before. The only one of us not here is-" Iceman started. He looked around, quickly taking a headcount. "X!"

"I've got a plan." Marvel Girl said grimly.

"Jean-" Cyclops started.

"We're not stopping him." Marvel Girl said. "We can't even slow him down. If this keeps up, we will lose." She looked away. "Whoever this guy is, he isn't exactly like us. This has to be something else, something different."

"What do you need us to do, Jean?" Cyclops asked after a long moment.

"Keep him busy." Marvel Girl said. "I'm going to try and reach him telepathically. Probably can find out what happened to X or at least slow him down enough to get the drop on him. X has to be there in that destruction somewhere, I know it. He has to know what-" Jean is suddenly cut off to see a energy beam hit Apocalypse that him sent him flying back to a large pile of rubble

The X-Men, along with Rogue, Juggernaut, the mutate group that Devon was part of before their capture by Weapon X, Jubilee, and the rest of the prisoners kept by Weapon X looked up to see a figure hovering in the air. The figure descended down to the ground on his feet, while Apocalypse rose up glaring viciously at the individual as Jason and the others that escaped the facility stood by the X-Men along with Jason's parents. The figure turned his head around and with wide eyes from the X-Men and the prisoners from Weapon X that it was actually Devon Slate, his eyes had black pupils and his eyes went from brown to silver blue, completely shirtless revealing his toned physique. He looked back at the shocked people behind him with a smirk crossing his face, then his smirk faded as he glared at Apocalypse bringing up energy-based brass knuckles.

"Oh my! He appears to be doing something new." Beast observed watching Apocalypse growl directly at the Devon, the mutates, the prisoners of Weapon X, and especially the X-Men. "And he is very, very angry."

"You can't face Apocalypse alone. Only together, we might have a chance at this." Devon told the others only for Apocalypse to start changing his mass

"I do not like the look of that." Nightcrawler muttered in german.

Apocalypse compressed the mass of energy. The ground beneath it caved with the force. His mass and body changing once again. The X-Men could see him changed from organic to a cybernetic form, as his hands were fulled with energy

"What the..." Iceman muttered.

All of a sudden, Apocalypse opened up firing a beam of energy as Cyclops fired off a high optic blast while Devon suddenly launched an energy bolt at the coming blast, countering the blast Apocalypse unleashed. Nightcrawler teleported in behind Sabretooth just as the powerful mutant called Apocalypse fired his next attack. They blinked out only seconds before that, Marvel Girl didn't have a word for it.

Black turned to white again. Wind roared around them throwing up dust and debris and forcing them to throw themselves to the ground for shelter.

There was an eerie calm when Marvel Girl looked up again. Storm's clouds had disappeared, probably blown away. The stars were out, she noted absently.

"Get offa me!" Sabretooth snarled, violently shoving Nightcrawler. "Next time you do that, I'm gonna add your ears to my-"

He stopped when he caught sight of the devastation. The entire western half of the valley was gone. Trees, rocks, everything. Just gone, as far as the mountains which were now glowing dull red.

This was out of their league. This was so far out of their league... and they had no idea on how they would survive.

"Oh my god..." Storm whispered to herself. Her eyes were wide.

Apocalyse glared. His telekinesis ability lashed out, catching Sabretooth completely by surprise. The powerful mutant wrenched Sabretooth back sending him flying upward into the sky.

"We... we can't win this..." Iceman muttered quietly.

"I have to try and reach to Devon, or found out whoever this Apocalyse guy is!" Marvel Girl said seeing Devon face off against Apocalypse aone by himself.

Sabretooth screamed. Apocalypse was trying to tear him in half in the sky with his telekinesis, holding him by his force in two massive telekinetic field. Sabretooth's arm was ripped off instead, the surprise sent the feral mutant spinning away. Apocalypse grinned and turned towards where Sabretooth was now screaming in pain. he pinned Sabretooth with a massive blast of red-black energy, shattering the ground beneath him. Apocalypse moved slowly towards Sabretooth, his grin eerily bright as he kicked him aside to a tree.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!" Cyclops yelled at Marvel Girl. He fired another optic blast at Apocalypse, who in return brought up another blast to deflect Cyclops' optic beam. He staggered back, only for Devon to fly in landing a strong jab that sent him flying back. Iceman and Storm joined in, putting everything they had into this while Apocalypse grabbed Devon with his telekinesis.

Apocalypse was thrown back, losing his grip on Devon. Nightcrawler teleported him away to safety, causing The eternal mutant to shout in anger and rage.

It became harder to breathe. That feeling, that they were all about to die, became almost impossible to overcome. Apocalypse still stood nearly untouchable, only showing a tear in his tunic. The sky seemed to darken, the stars somehow becoming dimmer. That evil energy surrounding the eternal grew and grew. All of a sudden, Devon flew back to take on Apocalypse only to be halted where he was for some reason. Devon was caught in the hold of the mutant eternal called Apocalypse.

"You dare challenge my might!" Apocalypse shouted in anger

He opened fire on them, spitting out a barrage of energy shots. Colossus wrenched a thick, bent slab of what used to be a blast door from a nearby pile of rubble. He put all of his weight behind it to deflect what shots he could.

"Hurry, Marvel Girl!" Colossus shouted. "I don't know how much longer I can-"

The last blast punched right through his makeshift shield and slammed into Colossus with physical force. He was hit so much harder than when he'd derailed that train in India. Colossus was thrown through the air, but he never hit the ground though.

Marvel Girl held out her hand. She'd caught him, telekinetically, but her eyes were still fixed on Apocalypse. "_Stop!_"

Apocalypse glared angrily at Jean, but he couldn't move from Marvel Girl's grasp. His eyes were locked with hers.

"Jean! What are you-"

"It took me a moment to get through Devon's mind, but I can't get into Apocalypse's for some-" Her eyes went wide as she realised what she was feeling here. "Oh my god! I'm sensing something! T-that's not just Devon in there!"

Apocalypse had his sights on Marvel Girl now, his telekinesis thrashed violently against Marvel Girl's control. Marvel Girl's nose started to bleed. She shook with the effort of keeping him contained. Her voice was strained when she said, "_I said stop!_"

X

Inside the mind of Devon Slate, his mindscape was changed from a modern dojo to the Temple of the Watchers. Jean Grey arrived in Devon's mindscape only to see her appearance changed wearing a white toga, which was somewhat odd for her wearing such a thing from Greco-Roman times. Jean looked at where she in Devon's mindscape was, only for her to discover levitating in the air by a mysterious force of a totem that had an eye on the top of it wearing an exact Greco-Roman toga. It was radiating off some sort of energy, blasting straight at Devon causing him to groan.

"Devon!" Jean yelled rushing to his side, her hands on his face

"He is well, Jean Grey." said a mysterious voice

"Who said that?" said Jean looking for the person's voice who said her name in the temple besides her and Devon

"I am Uatu, the Watcher. I have imprinted a gift within Devon Slate. Something that could help him with the problem you are currently facing." Uatu explained as the enrgy faded, leaving Devon to gently hover in the air

"What exaactly did you imprint him with that could help us face Apocalypse?" Jean asked not sure what the being known as Uatu the Watcher imprinted inside him

"A natural and mysterious force. A cosmic state to counter against any immenient threat, including Apocalypse." the Watcher answered as a large glowing X symbol appeared on Devon's face "Now you must leave and return to the natural world, Apocalypse is close to getting a head start as we speak." Uatu told her as a bright lights flares

X

Devon eyes glowed light blue as an X symbol appeared on his face, his fly speeding at Apocalypse sending him flying with a straight fist while Marvel Girl kneeled down on her knees. Apocalypse staggered back from the powerful punch, glaring at Devon as he unleashed an entire barriage of energy shots causing Devon to dodge and avoid the shots flying at him. Devon headed closer to Apocalypse ready to shoot an energy bolt at him, only for said eternal to sent him down on the ground with telekinesis along with bashing through tree to tree. Suddenly, Devon started fuelling with electro-magnetic radiation as he unleashed an all out blast at Apocalypse. He was sent flying away, crashing directly into a mountain, leaving a crater in the middle. Apocalypse sat up and hovered, glancing back at the opponenent that defeated and flew away. Devon was now hovering three feet above the air, the glowing X mark began to fade away after the battle was over

Devon collapsed on the ground, eyes closed and unconscious. Jean rushed to his side, checking his vitals as she placed his head on her knees. He was physically fine, no injuries, not even so much as a scratch. The X-Men had thrown everything they had at Apocalypse, in the process threw everything he had at Devon and he was partially fine, physically

All of a sudden, there was chaos. The air was full of helicopters, kicking up great clouds of dust. There were at least six of them circling around, reminding Marvel Girl of vultures. The area was lit up by searchlights. Shielding her eyes against their glare, Marvel Girl could just make out the SHIELD insignia emblazoned on the bottom of one of them. She shared a grim look with Cyclops. They both thought the same thing: Weapon X reinforcements.

The other X-Men were on edge now too, as the helicopters landed, one a little closer to them than the rest. An armed contingent of soldiers poured out, followed by Nick Fury.

He'd seen better days. It had been the other team's assignment to rescue him from his captors in India, while Marvel Girl and her team broke into the genetics facility. Fury had probably been on the way to some secret SHIELD base to recover from the ordeal when the Weapon X facility was destroyed. Its destruction must've sent out some kind of signal.

Cyclops reached for his visor, just in case.

"Easy there, cowboy. No one's here to fight." Fury said, raising his hands disarmingly. Cyclops hesitated, but lowered his hand. Fury glanced at two of the soldiers accompanying him. "Organize a search party. Start looking for survivors, immediately."

"Yes sir!" said both of the soldiers as they did said orders

They watched the soldiers go off, digging cautiously through the rubble for survivors. Not many people could have survived that, Marvel Girl knew. Rogue had been extremely lucky she was in the same cell as Juggernaut. Not many people would have similar luck.

"What happened here?" Fury asked.

"We're not sure." Cyclops said tersely. He shared a look with Marvel Girl. He wasn't about to volunteer any information to these people. He certainly wasn't about to sell Devon out, not after he helped them with Apocalypse. He was one of them now. Weapon X was a SHIELD-sanctioned program; as far as Cyclops was concerned, these people were just as responsible as Wraith and his soldiers. "What happens next?"

'Hey... I know that guy... that's Nick motherfuckin' Fury!' Devon though slurring. He sounded woozy, while he was pointing at Fury. Marvel Girl glanced at Devon, who was trying unsuccessfully to sit up but felt back on his knees. She gently helped him up.

"You seem to be looking better, kid." Fury said, with a chuckle.

"I ain't the one all bandaged up." Devon scoffed with a grin, leaning heavily on Marvel Girl's shoulder for support. His exhaustion was obvious. That transformation of his must have taken a huge toll on him. Marvel Girl couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Devon actually tired, his eyes could barely stay open. He endured everything Weapon X had to throw at him with seemingly endless stamina and energy. Not to mention, face Apocalypse head on like that.

"We're shutting this place down." Fury said. "You're all free to go, pending the outcome of an investigation."

"Why should we trust you?" Iceman asked.

"There's been enough violence." Marvel Girl said firmly. Devon looked directly at her, before he nodded, looking away, looking around at the devastation he saw delivered by Apocalypse. His eyes became distant. His hand crept unconsciously to his abdomen. Marvel Girl gave him a reassuring squeeze. She fixed Fury with a look. "We're going home. All of us."

X

Devon woke up in the middle of the night with a pounding headache, while he glanced at Jason being cold of all sudden. It still took some getting used to, waking up in a real bed again. Even the mattress in his old apartment wasn't as comfortable as the one here, to say nothing of the plank he had to sleep on while he was with Weapon X. A quick glance at the window let him know it was still dark out.

They were living in a large rented house now. It was a temporary arrangement, while SHIELD investigated what had happened at Weapon X. They weren't prisoners Nick Fury had explained, but they weren't free to go either.

Besides the group of mutates he first met, it had surprised Devon that none of the mutants had given him up. He wasn't sure what would happen, if SHIELD ever found out that he'd been the one that fought Apocalypse and won, after the eternal himself destroyed the base. It wasn't something he liked to think about.

Devon was bunking with Bobby, Jason, and John. Bobby unconsciously used his powers, cooling his surroundings. Which meant sleeping under two extra blankets, as far as all three of were concerned with the three of them trying to keep warm. And waking up in the middle of the night sometimes, felt like shivering cold every now and then. Devon scratched his medium afro hair since he got caught by Weapon a month ago, thinking of having a cornrow hairstyle all of a sudden.

Devon groaned in annoyed and pulled the blankets up a little higher around him. But, the chill in the air kept him from falling back to sleep though once he was awake. Devon sat up shooting a dark and hard look at his roommate, who sprawled across his own bed, oblivious to the cold he'd caused.

And he had a headache on top of everything else, causing Devon to think of a way to get warm. 'Damn it boy, yo ass is freezin' the room up!' Devon thought in annoyance wrapping one of his blankets around himself, he started shuffling from the room. There was a light on downstairs; indicating someone was still awake. He hadn't glanced at his alarm clock, but glancing out the window at the pitch black night, Devon guessed it was still pretty late at night, especially if someone was downstairs.

He made his way on to the source where the light on at, which lead to the kitchen. Marvel Girl or Jean was sitting at the table, nursing herself a cup of hot cocoa. She looked up as he walked in, offering him a smile. "You're up late."

"I couldn't sleep." Devon said trying to stifle a yawn, while Jean smirked at him. Devon went to the cabinet and took out another mug. After searching around, he finally found a packet of cocoa powder. He emptied into his mug, pouring hot water from the kettle over it and stirring as he went. He grabbed the steaming mug with one hands, relishing the warmth for a moment. He plopped down next to the redhead. 'Damn, it's good to be warm again. Now, to turn my attention to the red headed hottie known as Jean Grey.' he thought setting his sights on her "So, what about you?"

"What about me?" Jean asked.

"How come you're still awake?" he replied, taking a sip of his own hot cocoa. Jean seemed to have forgotten hers, her eyes became distant. Devon wondered what she was thinking about. Was it that mission Weapon X sent her on? To kill that scientist? Did she still wake up with nightmares of that man's dying moments? Devon could easily picture the terrified look she had looking in the small doctor's eyes, just a moment before the blood vessels in his brain ruptured and he died. He could imagine the doctor pleading for his life, trying to forge some desperate connection with Jean that would save him. But, it failed. 'Leave it to that asswipe Wraith to make someone's life a living hell.' Devon thought, venomously

"I couldn't sleep either." Jean said quietly, looking away.

'She doesn't want to talk about it, I can hardly blame her for it.' Devon thought, looking down on his mug

"One of those nights, I guess." Devon said, taking another sip of hot cocoa while glancing at Jean. Jean smiled slightly, taking a sip of her own cocoa eying Devon. Things had started to change between him and Jean. The other X-Men were wary around him, afraid of him, or what he becamed – Devon wasn't really sure either. Jean was different though. There was this... connection between them now. Devon didn't know how to really describe it. He found himself wondering what would happen at the end of all of this. Where would they all end up?

"Don't worry." Jean said, covering his hand with her own. Hers was warm from holding her hot cocoa. "You can stay with us."

"As long as I ain't bunking with Bobby anymore." Devon laughed, showing a slight grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "He's having that dream about Rogue again. It's been drivin' my ass nuts!" he said

"What...?" Jean asked, surprised. She was looking at him funny after he let out a small laugh.

"You didn't know he has a crush on her?" Devon asked, been secretly knowing about his fixiation on Rogue. "He dreams about her almost every night, talking in his sleep about her, Vividly."

"He mentioned it in his sleep?" Jean asked, seeing Devon nod his head in reply

"The others are still..." He trailed off. He didn't really want to go there. He glanced over at Jean. She was giving him that sympathetic look again. She'd seen first-hand what power he contained fighting Apocalypse with, after all. But he was still uncomfortable with that look Jean was showing him. "It's kind of obvious, isn't it?" He finished lamely.

Silence settled over them for a while, the both of them pretending to enjoy their cup of hot cocoa. "What am I thinking right now?" Jean asked.

"Well, you're the psychic," Devon said, grinning wrapping his arm around Jean's shoulder as she glanced at him. "You tell me."

"Just... guess," Jean said, smirking. "For me."

"Something about trying to figure out why you can't read my mind." Devon responded, without even having to think about it.

Jean went very still, It took her a little longer before she came to the same realization. Later on, she wouldn't be sure of the source of her realization. She sat up, staring into his eyes for an answer. "You're immune to telepathy."

X

Five hours of exhaustive testing later, the scientific explanation that Beast gave him went right over Devon's head, with the sun finally coming up. Devon sat at the kitchen table and watched as Jean and Henry McCoy aka Beast talked using big words that he half learned while know about English. They might as well have been talking in some other language entirely, back and forth like a tennis match as far as he was concerned. So far, the words he heard them say were retrovirus and genome splicing that he manage to make out quick.

Jean realized what was wrong first. Whether it was by reading the blank look on his face, or by reading his mind, Devon remained immune to her telepathy, even any other kind. "There's no way to know for sure yet, without thorough blood tests, but you seem to have gain an immunity from telepathy, flight, energy manipulation, along with the rest of powers you have now." Jean said. "You're a mutant." she pointed out seeing Devon have a confused look on his face for a moment

"I'm not a mutant, I'm a mutate." Devon said, frowning and shaking his head. 'I'm not even from this universe.' he thought knowing Jean couldn't be able to read his mind

"Do you remember anything about the experiments they performed on you?" McCoy asked, folding his arms. "Did you manage to overhear anything?"

Devon shook his head. "No, I'm afraid shot me up full of tranquilizers ever since I arrived at that hellhole. The next thing I remember was Corneilius mentioned deriving mutant DNA and..."

Looking out over the devastation he saw Apocalypse had caused, the ruins of the Weapon X facility. He could still remember the acrid smell of death and destruction lingered in the air, caused by the eternal mutant himself. He could still picture the nervousness, the uncertainty, the fear on the faces of X-Men and the prisoners from Weapon X's face the destruction Apocalypse had unleashed at the facility.

"It's possible that they took something from one of us, probably from one of the dead mutants genomes samples which came from the genes that give us our powers." Jean said. "And they put it into you, having you receive powers from deriving the DNA from those three mutants."

"Why'd it take so long to show up then?" Devon asked. "I haven't exactly been going around flying and kicking ass since well, you know."

"You've been keeping to yourself." McCoy said.

"Because you all don't trust me." Devon responded. Beast opened his mouth to argue with Devon, but he wasn't done. "It's alright, I can get why. Even if things hadn't gotten so crazy, I helped them kidnap all of you. I don't think I could really fit in here with the rest of you. I mean, I'm not really one of you."

"That's not true, Devon." Jean said.

"Yes, it is." Devon said. He grinned, wondering if she'd see through it. Jean always saw through his grinning, his joking, and he knew it wasn't because she was psychic. "It's okay, really. I don't mind."

Jean frowned and Devon knew instantly what she was going to say. "You're staying with us." she said firmly

"But I'm a mutate, not a mutant. So are the Palmers and Tyler Jones, we wouldn't fit in with the rest of you guys." Devon said, looking away.

"It doesn't matter." Jean said. "The Professor tried to teach us tolerance before..." Before he was blown up in Apocalypse's destruction, like hundreds of other people somehow leading Devon's guilt into not stopping him. His body would probably never even be recovered from beneath the rubble, like hundreds of other people. "Don't think that." Jean rebuked gently. She reached out, covering his hand with hers again. Devon was reminded of the weird bond they sort of had with each other all of a sudden. "It wasn't your fault. The Professor wouldn't blame you either."

Devon shrugged, noncommittal only once. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to consider his predicament. He'd need to figure out this power cosmic state thing for sure. He didn't want to wander into another state were it could cost his life if he could learn to control it. He also wanted to train his new powers. Even if he didn't like it, his time with Weapon X had taught him that his skills weren't all that great yet. He still had a long way to go, but if he trained hard...

"You can still learn those things with us." Jean pressed. She'd been trying reading his mind, Devon knew. He frowned slightly, at the thought of invasion some of his privacy. Jean withdrew her hand. The look on her face told him she knew she'd pushed him maybe a bit too far.

"I'll think about it." Devon promised with a grin going across his face. "You'll help me figure this cosmic power thing out?"

"I promise." Jean said earnestly, Devon grinned cheerfully. Jean thought he was taking this sudden superhuman thing really well as she smiled back


End file.
